Images of the war in Ukraine have left many of us feeling helpless, but for Phil Marshall, the crisis gave him the opportunity to turn his concern into action.
Phil, a member of the Mother of Unfailing Help Conference in Leeds, turned his back on a week’s holiday to travel to Romania to support the heroic work carried out by SSVP members across the border in southwest Ukraine.
Travelling to a Vincentian parish in Oradea in northwest Romania, Phil, who works for charities Catholic Care in Leeds and Hope Housing in Bradford, joined over 40 SSVP members preparing for the weekly trip to Ukraine where they deliver food, clothes and toiletries, donated by the local community around Oradea. The task of collecting, packing and weighing the aid is arduous, because even in a war zone, everything has to be documented because it’s going from an EU country to a non-EU country.
Phil says: “The local community and churches have been very generous with their donations, but they are noticeably declining, so they are having to subsidise the aid by purchasing food and toiletries. They are now spending around €500 per week on aid and fuel for the vans, which, in the long-term, is unsustainable.”
Phil Marshall (2nd left) with members of the Oradea SSVP Conference
The Conference in Oradea has linked up with a parish in Perechyn, about 80km southwest of Lviv in Ukraine, which they are supporting. Once delivered to Perechyn, the aid is then delivered to local parishes and villages to support people fleeing the violence in the eastern regions of Ukraine, with some aid also sent east to areas directly affected by the Russian invasion.
Phil accompanied three SSVP members on the 10-hour round trip to Perechyn, southwest of Lviv in Ukraine, describing the transition from the Romanian/Hungarian border to an active war zone as “surreal”. He adds: “I didn’t feel particularly scared or frightened because the people I was with do this on a weekly basis. I trusted them.”
Phil noted that security at the border was highly visible with a large presence of Ukrainian soldiers and defences in place. Asked what motivates SSVP members in Oradea to carry out such a dangerous mission every week, Phil explains: “They see helping their brothers and sisters in Ukraine as a sense of duty. The tension builds in the days running up to the trips, and there’s a sense of relief when the convoy returns, but overall, they just want to help as much as they can.”
Phil describes conditions in Perechyn, some 100km inside the Ukrainian border as “not too bad,” but felt “uneasy” at the presence of armed troops. The region has seen an influx of internal refugees, and with Putin’s violent advance across the country displacing millions of Ukrainians, the need for aid is rising. Phil notes that SVP members in England and Wales can help by supporting the fundraising campaign for Ukraine.
However, donations have been coming in for the Oradea Conference. The White Cross in Italy has donated a functioning ambulance to the Conference to transport patients to and from appointments for non-urgent treatment. Additionally, the Conference was also given a 40-year-old car to help with the aid effort.
While in Romania, Phil also helped to support and feed the homeless in Oradea, which the Conference carries out three times per week. The Conference has also been given some land which is being developed into a community garden to grow vegetables for local families.
The ordeal being suffered by millions in Ukraine is unimaginable for most people living in the safety of the UK, however, we can all help. Phil concludes: “Please support the SVP campaign to support those suffering in Ukraine. Conferences in Oradea and the wider area have to purchase food and essential items for people fleeing the violence. These people often arrive with nothing, so please help where you can.”
He continues: “The least we can do for our brothers and sisters, the people fleeing the war, and those caring for them, is to pray, and hope for this conflict to end.”
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The 40-year-old car gifted to the SSVP Conference in Oradea